F&M Stories
Thomas Reilly ’27 Leads Campus-Community Effort to Support Childhood Cancer Research
Photo credit: Deb Grove
Thomas Reilly ’27 has made volunteer work and community service a central part of his F&M experience—and recently helped organize an event that raised $30,000 for childhood cancer research.
The government major from Haddonfield, N.J. is part of the F&M chapter of St. Baldrick’s, a foundation that raises money to fund research into childhood cancer treatment. Members make individual efforts to raise money through social media and personal connections, but the group also organizes larger events on campus.
The organization has sold coffee and donuts on Hartman Green and raffled off gift cards donated by local restaurants, among other efforts.
“We’ve been reaching out to local businesses around Lancaster, telling them what we’re doing and asking if they have any gift cards or merchandise they could donate,” Reilly said. “It’s amazing—pretty much everyone has said yes.”
Reilly, who is also a member of the F&M football team and president of the John Marshall Pre-Law Honor Society, grew up participating in fundraising and community service connected to sports teams he was on. He learned about St. Baldrick’s as a first-year, through friend and teammate Christian Theoharides ’24, and knew right away that he wanted to be involved.
“It’s easy to work with people when we have a common goal that everyone’s really passionate about,” said Reilly. “That’s the most exciting part for me.”
In addition to supporting a worthwhile cause, it also gave him the chance to build valuable leadership skills.
“What drew me to it was seeing how it’s completely student run. The organization was really impressive to me,” said Reilly. “It’s helped me grow as an individual and professional in ways that traditional coursework couldn’t.”
The past year of fundraising raised over $30,000 for St. Baldrick’s and culminated in a March 8 event where volunteers had their heads shaved to show support for cancer patients and raise awareness of the organization and their cause.
“People ask what happened to your hair, and you explain what you did it for,” said Reilly. “I always think it’s fun walking around the next week. It brings a smile to a lot of people’s faces and brings hope to a lot of people.”
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